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Angelo Mosca

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The Mighty Hercules
King Kong Mosca
No. 68
Mosca, circa 1984
Born:(1937-02-13)February 13, 1937
Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died:November 6, 2021(2021-11-06) (aged 84)
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Career information
CFL statusNational
Position(s)DT
Height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight275 lb (125 kg)
CollegeNotre Dame
NFL draft1959, round: 30, pick: 350
Drafted byPhiladelphia Eagles
Career history
As player
1958–1959Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1960–1961Ottawa Rough Riders
1962Montreal Alouettes
1962–1972Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Career highlights and awards
CFL All-Star1963, 1970
CFL East All-Star1960, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1970
AwardsCFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award - Runner Up (1963, 1970)
Honors5× Grey Cup champion (1960, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972)
Career stats

Angelo Valentino Mosca[1] (February 13, 1937 – November 6, 2021) was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. He was a defensive lineman in the Canadian Football League (CFL). As a wrestler, Mosca was known by the nicknames King Kong Mosca and the Mighty Hercules. He had a son, Angelo Jr., who also wrestled. Mosca was elected to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1987, the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.[2]

Early life

The second oldest boy in a family of four boys and seven girls,[3] Mosca was born on February 13, 1937, in Waltham, Massachusetts, to Agnes and Angelo Mosca.[1] His father Angelo was an immigrant from Panni in southern Italy, and his mother's mother was an African-American (and also half-Italian and half-Black), which was kept a secret from neighbours in their segregated, working-class neighbourhood in Waltham since New England was not known for its racial tolerance at the time.[1][4] Mosca's parents were alcoholics, and he was often neglected and abused by them, which opted Mosca to run away from home at the age of 16.[3] His father died in 1986, and his mother died at the age of 93.[3]

Football career

Mosca attended the University of Notre Dame on a scholarship, but was kicked out for bookmaking.[4] He then went to Wyoming, but was booted out for theft, allegedly stealing typewriters and cameras from stores and selling them on campus.[3][4] He was drafted by the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles in 1959 in the 30th round (350th overall).[2][4] He had already decided to play in the CFL, in 1958 for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[2] He went to Hamilton the same year after graduating from Notre Dame with a degree in business administration.[4] He was traded to the Ottawa Rough Riders for Hardiman Cureton on August 15, 1960, and played for the Rough Riders in 1960 and 1961 before joining the Montreal Alouettes in 1962 for 5 games.[2] He played his remaining years, 1962 to 1972 in Hamilton and was a five-time all star.[2]

Mosca played both offensive and defensive tackle, middle guard and end.[5] He played in nine Grey Cup games, more than any other player in CFL history, tied with his teammate John Barrow.[2][5] Mosca's teams won five Grey Cup games, one with the Ottawa Rough Riders and four with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[2]

He is infamous for the 51st Grey Cup game out-of-bounds and late hit on BC Lions star running back Willie Fleming.[6][3] With Fleming out of the game, the Tiger-Cats went on to win the Grey Cup and Mosca's reputation as being the meanest CFL player grew.[6][3] It was a reputation he later promoted as the notorious professional wrestler "King Kong" Mosca.[6][3] Mosca was the runner-up for the Schenley Most Outstanding Lineman award in 1963 and 1970.[5] He also only missed one game his entire football career.[3]

On August 25, 2015, the Tiger-Cats announced that they would retire Mosca's jersey number 68.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Angelo Mosca
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)King Kong[7]
King Mosca[7]
Angelo Mosca Sr.[7]
Billed height6 ft 4 in (193 cm)[8]
Billed weight319 lb (145 kg)[8]
Debut1959
Retired1986

Mosca was brought into wrestling by Montreal promoter Eddie Quinn.[4] He began wrestling in the off-season, and became a full-time wrestler after his retirement from football.[4] He wrestled all across North America, always at or near the top of the card, and almost always as a heel, even in Toronto until the late 1970s, then he became a face, and in the early 1980s, the lead face.[4][3] He also wrestled in Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association and in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, where he was frequently paired with Superstar Billy Graham in tag team competition.[4] During the mid '70s and '80s, Mosca worked in the Carolinas, facing top stars such as Ric Flair, Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan, and Ivan Koloff.[3]

Mosca and Bob Backlund, c. 1982

In 1981, during his time in the World Wrestling Federation, Mosca wrestled as (often – in a reversal of his character in Canada) as the promotion's most hated heel due to his brutal style.[4][3] He became a top challenger to WWF Champion Bob Backlund's World Championship, but was not successful in winning the belt.[9] He also engaged in a feud with Pat Patterson, a part-time wrestler who also did color commentary on the WWF's syndicated programs, after Mosca attacked Patterson at a television taping with a water pitcher; Patterson had grown disgusted with Mosca's rulebreaking tactics and, setting off the attack, publicly thanked a referee for disqualifying Mosca for refusing to pin his jobber opponent.[9]

Mosca was the colour commentator and wrestled for the WWF TV tapings in Ontario from August 1984 until January 1985 as a babyface.[3][9] After being fired by the WWF, Mosca promoted the NWA in Ontario in 1985-87. He and Milt Avruskin hosted a TV show featuring compilations of NWA matches. Mosca organized an NWA card in Hamilton in February 1986 called "Moscamania" that drew an excellent house of 12,000 but the follow-up a year later drew only 3,200. He retired from wrestling in 1986.[3][9]

Mosca's son, Angelo Mosca Jr., had a brief wrestling career.[4][10] Mosca managed his son for a brief time in late 1984 in the WWF.[10]

Personal life

Mosca lived in and around Hamilton for many years, and lived in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his wife, Helen, a real estate agent.[2] He first met her in 1996 at a Ticats game; they married in 1998.[11] His first wife, the mother of his two children, died of cancer.[3] His second wife, to whom he was married 20 years, suffered a fatal heart attack.[3]

He authored a book with Steve Milton called Tell Me To My Face, published by Lulu Canada Inc.[2][4] The book was released in September 2011.[12]

In 2011, Mosca got into a fight with former B.C. Lions quarterback Joe Kapp at a CFL alumni luncheon regarding a controversial hit Mosca had made in the 1963 Grey Cup game, where Mosca ended up hitting Kapp on the head with his cane.[13][3] The video of the fight went viral, receiving over 647,000 views on YouTube[14] and mentions on ESPN's Monday Night Football and on Fox TV's The O'Reilly Factor.[15] Mosca auctioned off the cane he used against Kapp at the following year's alumni luncheon for $7,700 (equivalent to $9,923 in 2023), with the money going towards the alumni association's "dire straits" fund for struggling former players.[14]

Mosca appeared in several Canadian TV commercials in the 1970s and 1980s.[2] Mosca still made PR appearances for the league and the Ticats and for other businesses.[2]

In February 2015, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease,[11] which took away his ability to swallow or eat solid foods.[4][3]

His number 68 football jersey was retired by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats football club on August 27, 2015, in a ceremony at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.[3]

In July 2016, Mosca was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[16] US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit in September 2018.[17]

Death

Mosca died at the Maccassa Lodge in Hamilton at age 84 on November 6, 2021.[4] He had stayed there for a number of years.[4]

Championships and accomplishments

North American football

Professional wrestling

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Hawthorn, Tom (November 11, 2021). "Hulking Hamilton Ticats legend Angelo Mosca was known as Mr. Nasty". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Angelo Mosca". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 28, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Mooneyham, Mike (November 27, 2021). "Sports giant Angelo Mosca was a character for the ages". The Post and Courier. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oliver, Greg (November 6, 2021). "Angelo Mosca dead at 84". Slam! Wrestling. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Angelo Mosca – Class of 1987". Canadian Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Heroes of the Game, A History of The Grey Cup - Stephen Thiele, Moulin Publishing 1997
  7. ^ a b c "Wrestler's Database: Angelo Mosca". Cagematch. Retrieved September 20, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Shields, Brian; Sullivan, Kevin (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK. p. 14. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0.
  9. ^ a b c d Rose, Bryan (November 6, 2021). "Angelo Mosca passes away at 84 years old". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Angelo Mosca Jr. bio". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved January 18, 2022.
  11. ^ a b Rush, Curtis (February 27, 2015). "Sports giant Angelo Mosca copes with Alzheimer's | Toronto Star". Toronto Sun. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  12. ^ Simmons, Steve (September 14, 2011). "Simmons: The two sides of Angelo Mosca". Toronto Sun. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  13. ^ "CFL greats' fight 'most bizarre thing'". CBC Sports. November 27, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  14. ^ a b Kennedy, Brendan (November 23, 2012). "Grey Cup: Angelo Mosca's cane auctioned for charity". Toronto Star. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  15. ^ "Angelo Mosca to discuss Grey Cup fight on Dr. Phil". Toronto Star. December 2, 2011. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
  16. ^ "WWE sued in wrestler class action lawsuit featuring Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka, Paul 'Mr Wonderful' Orndorff". FoxSports.com. Fox Entertainment Group (21st Century Fox). July 18, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  17. ^ Robinson, Byron (September 22, 2018). "Piledriver: WWE uses 'Hell in a Cell' as springboard to future shows". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  18. ^ "AWA British Empire Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  19. ^ "AWA/NWA United States Heavyweight Title (San Francisco)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  20. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "NWA Florida Bahamian Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  21. ^ "NWA Global Tag Team Title (Florida)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  22. ^ "Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  23. ^ "Columbus Heavyweight Title (Georgia)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  24. ^ "NWA Georgia Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  25. ^ "Macon Heavyweight Title (Georgia)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  26. ^ Hoops, Brian (January 17, 2019). "Pro wrestling history (01/17): Vader wins IWGP heavyweight title". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
  27. ^ "NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  28. ^ "Brass Knuckles Title (Oklahoma & Louisiana)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  29. ^ "North American Heavyweight Title (Alberta & Saskatchewan)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  30. ^ Whalen, Ed (host) (December 15, 1995). "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame: 1948-1990". Showdown at the Corral: A Tribute to Stu Hart. Event occurs at 27:55. Shaw Cable. Calgary 7.
  31. ^ "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948-1990)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005.
  32. ^ "Caribbean Heavyweight Title (Puerto Rico)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
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